Best and Most Likely

Court Declines to Hear Gay Marriage Case

That's what this result is. It's not surprising that the Supreme Court avoided hearing a gay marriage case: it's a political grenade and there's really no way the Court could overturn the Massachusetts court's interpretation of that state's constitution. Nevertheless, this is the best possible result. Hearing the case would have offered the Court the opportunity to invent a reason not to allow gay marriage, a precedent that might have derailed supporters of the Federal Marriage Amendment but would also have been difficult to overcome anytime in the near future because Bush will likely anoint a few high priests--I mean, appoint a few justices--before his new term is up, and they're not likely to be friendly to gay rights. It would also have offered the Court the chance to narrowly approve of gay marriage--say, 5-4--and thus give FMA backers just the ammo they need to get a public that hasn't yet processed this issue behind their backward-looking amendment. By ducking the case entirely, the Court instead lets Massachusetts marriages stand, letting the results of that state's experiment with equality inform the debate in the rest of the nation and giving citizens a break from landmark gay rights verdicts that reduce this issue to partisan howling rather than the thoughtful consideration and conversation that will eventually bring about a new consensus.

Yes, this is the new, patient version of Richard. Four weeks out from an electoral disaster, what other choice do liberals (or gays) in America have?